The invention relates in general to slip and boat docks and in particular to a new and useful floating dock having side boxes on both the port and starboard sides.
Floating docks, in particualr those used for docking ships of the U.S. Naval forces must now meet the more stringent requirements of the Military Standard MIL-STD 1625 N (SH). The freeboards and stability criteria of floating docks specified in these safety regulations require, especially in the case of damages, special design measurements for the dock design. For instance, a widening of the side box walls in the area between the upper and the safety decks of the dock is specified, among other things.
Normally, such a widening of the side box walls presents no design problems for new dock construction. It is difficult if the dock must pass under bridges or through locks while being transported by water and the width dimensions of the dock exceed the permissible transport dimensions. By the same token, retrofitting existing floating docks to meet the specified widening of the side boxes requires special considerations.